The levees and floodwalls that protect New Orleans held up against Hurricane Ida's fury, officials say. It was the toughest test since the federal government spent billions to upgrade a system that catastrophically failed during Katrina 16 years ago.
, passing their toughest test since the federal government spent billions of dollars to upgrade a system that catastrophically failed when Hurricane Katrina struck 16 years ago.
Louisiana State University professor emeritus Craig Colten, who has taught historical geography, said most of the New Orleans levee systems has been in place for decades. He said the flooding in LaPlace can be explained by wind direction, not by any floodwater diverted from New Orleans. “We don’t believe there is a single levee anywhere now that actually breached or failed. There were a few smaller levees that were overtopped to a degree for a certain period of time,” Edwards said.Two flood protection districts oversee the system in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes. Neither district reported any breaches or overtopping of levees.
Tulane University history professor Andy Horowitz, author of “Katrina: A History, 1915-2015,” said it is "unequivocally great news” that the levees held up against Ida's surge. That doesn't mean that a city as vulnerable as New Orleans is safe from flooding “in the face of a changing climate,” he added
After Katrina, the federal government spent $14.5 billion on projects designed to enhance protection from storm surge and flooding in New Orleans and surrounding suburbs south of Lake Pontchartrain. Starting with a giant surge barrier east of the city, the system is a 130-mile ring built to hold out storm surge of about 30 feet .
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